Three thousand tickets for the upcoming Davis Cup Tennis match between Ireland and Austria sold out this morning within 2 hours of going on sale.
The enthusiastic response has delighted both the team and Tennis Ireland and has led to a commitment on the part of Tennis Ireland to make more seating available early in the New Year.
According to Chief Executive Kevin Quinn:
‘We went out of our way to make the match affordable, with tickets costing only €20, and now we are also going to go out of our way to make it available to more fans. I will be meeting with UL to discuss capacity and I expect that in early January we will be able to confirm the installation of more seating and a further release of tickets.’
As to the pace of the sell-out Quinn continued:
‘The response has been truly phenomenal. Since the match was announced our phones have been hopping, but this morning’s quick sell-out was amazing. I think it’s evidence of two things – first of all, the traditional tennis community’s pent-up demand for a home Davis cup fixture, but also of the growing popularity of our great sport with a whole new cohort of players’.
Captain Conor Niland also responded to news of the high demand:
‘This is fantastic news for the players. They were already delighted at the prospect of competing in an arena like the one in UL. Now they know for sure they will be doing so in front of a full house. It will be huge for them and I can guarantee their total commitment to providing a stiff challenge to what will be world-class opposition.’
ENDS
Notes to editors:
The Ireland Austria Davis Cup match will be played on February 3rd and 4th in the UL Arena, Limerick. There will be two singles on Saturday 3rd, with a doubles and two further singles being played on Sunday 4th. The winning team will progress to World Group I.
The Austrian team will provide Ireland with a tough challenge. Former World No 3 Dominic Thiem, is likely to be in their line up, while the other players expected to travel and Jurij Rodionov who is ranked 111 in the world, and Dennis Novak who is ranked 166.
The Davis Cup is seen as the World Cup of tennis.
This match, the first home tie Ireland has hosted in 9 years, will take place on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th February 2024.
Ireland has successfully progressed from World Group III into World Group II and now to the World Group I playoffs through wins over Georgia, Barbados and most recently El Salvador in September.
Limerick was the venue for previous Davis Cup success for Ireland. In 1989, the Irish team of Peter Wright, Sean Molloy and Robert Dolan beat Senegal 4-1 in Limerick Lawn Tennis Club.
Tennis is Ireland’s 4th most popular sport and has welcomed many new players to its growing all-island tennis community since COVID.
